Man has kept domesticated animals as pets since even before the beginning of recorded history. Dogs and cats have always been the two favorite kinds of pets. There are many reasons that people keep dogs: as companions, work dogs, guard dogs, or a combination of all of these. A prenatal need of every domestic animal is a place to rest. It is particularly important to provide a dog with a suitable bed, preferably a place where he can curl up to rest, to obtain nature, and to bask in the feeling of security. Although dogs have been domesticated for centuries, their primal instincts of crawling into a cave-like structure to rest have not changed much. Ideally, a dog's sleeping quarters should be “cave-like,” to give him a feeling of security and, at the same time, avoid drafts of air. The health of a dog and, in fact, his overall domestic behavior will often depend upon the adequacy of his sleeping quarters.
Another desirable characteristic of sleeping quarters for a dog is that of “snugness” or “cuddliness” which also contribute to the animal's feeling of security and wellbeing. Such cuddliness can be achieved by closely confining the animal's body with soft resilient padding. Conventional sleeping quarters which have tried to provide this feature have been limited by the fact that dogs vary greatly is size and structure providing closeness for a large size dog may be cavernous for a much smaller dog.
Some dogs are kept outdoors requiring an outdoor kennel. This, of course, requires an open area such as a yard or a garden, a luxury often not available for city dwellers. Still, many people prefer to keep their pet dogs indoors, regardless of whether or not a yard or a garden is available. Apartment dwellers, of course, have no alternative but to keep their pets indoors. In close domestic quarters it is desirable for the dog to be able to enter its resting place from more than one direction.
Dog houses are typically employed with dogs that are kept outside of their master's house for prolonged periods of time. Generally, dog houses are simple structures comprised of a frame, wooden boards attached to the framing so as to enclose the structure, and some weather protective coating placed on the outwardly facing surfaces of the boards to prevent degradation of the structure. The houses, however, are not insulated or at most, contain hay or some form of bedding positioned therein to retain heat.
Conventional houses for dogs, cats, or similar animals have been constructed in a multiplicity of different ways, generally to satisfy the particular desires of the owner of the occupant-animal. Little overall sophistication has been employed because for the most part domestic animals were kept generally indoors during inclement or cold weather, and out of doors otherwise. Moreover, many people prefer to take their dog along when they travel. To these people, leaving their dog behind and boarding him while they are away from home is bordering on cruelty to a family member. When pet owners left their homes for an appreciable length of time neighbors were generally entrusted with the care of their pets, or the pets were simply boarded with professional “pounds”. However, absent the latter two possibilities pets were simply permitted to fend for themselves out of doors, in basements or the like and found themselves more than uncomfortable, particularly during cold weather if out of doors or if indoors the house thermostat was lowered appreciably, as is the usual practice of persons who leave their dwellings for extended periods of time.
The problems noted heretofore are compounded if the pet owners live in apartments, townhouses, condominiums or the like which have no basements or common areas, other than a porch or patio, for the tethering, keeping, etc. of unattended pets.